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June 3, 2009 \ Compliance \ Costs \ Administration \ Design \ Policy

Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA) (Advert.)

EBIA's 11th ANNUAL ADVANCED CAFETERIA PLANS CONFERENCE (clickable image)

EBIA's 11th ANNUAL ADVANCED CAFETERIA PLANS CONFERENCE

Register now for EBIA's 11th Annual Advanced Cafeteria Plans Conference, which will be held in Seattle on July 8-10, 2009. Our speakers include outstanding employee benefits attorneys who are contributing authors on one or more EBIA manuals. Don't miss the optional pre-conference seminar: Advanced Briefing on New Federal Mandates! As in past years, we expect this annual conference to sell out, so be sure to register soon at www.ebia.com.


[Guidance Overview]
District Court Within Ninth Circuit Holds That Priority Language in Health Plan Overrides Make-Whole Rule

Excerpt: "A recurring issue for health plan subrogators is what language is sufficient to override the make whole rule. On the one hand, Circuits like the Fifth Circuit have held that no particular language is required to overcome the make whole rule. In the Fifth Circuit (and others like it), plan language simply providing for 100% recovery is sufficient. (Clear Direction blog)


[Guidance Overview]
Discretionary Clauses in Disability Insurance Policies in California and Their Impact on ERISA Plans (PDF)

At pages 3-6 of 9-page newsletter. Excerpt: "Since February 2004, the California Department of Insurance ('DOI') has prohibited insurance companies from including in their insurance policies 'discretionary clauses' reserving discretionary authority to the insurer as the benefits claims decision-maker. . . . This article provides an update on the effect of the DOI's prohibition of discretionary clauses on the standard of review for ERISA benefit claims litigation. . . . [T]he state's policy against discretionary clauses is currently limited to disability insurance policies." (Trucker Huss)


Court of Appeals Hearing is Friday on Treatment of Indiana Pension Fund as Bondholder in Chrysler Deal
Excerpt: "A U.S. Court of Appeals agreed on Tuesday [June 2] to hear a challenge to Chrysler LLC's sale of most of its assets to a group led by Italian automaker Fiat . . . . A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will hear arguments in the appeal on Friday at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) in New York, according to a court order on Tuesday." (New York Times)


Health Insurers Balking at Extending Changes to Plans Covering Small Employers
Excerpt: "In other words, policy analysts and others say, unless the insurance industry is willing to give some of the same ground to small businesses that they have ceded to individual policy holders, a big part of what is wrong with the nation's health care system may not get fixed. More than 40 percent of the private American labor force works for companies with fewer than 100 workers." (New York Times)


Obama Said to Be Open to Taxing Health Benefits
Excerpt: "President Barack Obama is leaving the door open to taxing health care benefits, something he campaigned hard against while running for president, according to senators who met with him Tuesday." (AP via New York Times)


Despite Campaign Rhetoric, Obama Pivots on Taxing Health-Care Benefits
Excerpt: "President Obama, in a pivot from some of his harshest campaign rhetoric, told Democratic senators yesterday that he is willing to consider taxing employer-sponsored health benefits to help pay for a broad expansion of coverage. " (Washington Post; free registration required)


New York City Labor Unions Agree to Reductions in Health Benefits
Excerpt: "The agreement imposes the $50 to $100 co-payments for about one-fifth of current and retired city employees, and eliminates coverage for preventive dental care at certain offices. For most other city employees, the plan would restrict certain hospital, ambulatory and hemodialysis coverage to network providers and would implement several other administrative cost-saving measures." (New York Times)


Health Plan Claims Procedures Cost Physician Practices Billions; Per-Doctor Average Is Near $70,000
Excerpt: "Physicians know that the phone calls, faxes and e-mails sent between their practices and health plans take time. Researchers have determined how much time it takes and what it costs." (American Medical Association)


[Opinion]
Society of Actuaries Presents Multiple Papers on U.S. Healthcare System Reform Proposals

The series is entitled 'Visions for the Future of the U.S. Health Care System.' Excerpt: "The invitation to submit essays went out to members of: the SOA Health Section, the SOA Long-Term Care Insurance Section, DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance, the American Society of Health Economists and the American Society of Health Risk Managers. . . . Actuaries and related health professionals have an understanding of the complexities of the current health care system and the interrelated nature of the various segments. We need to bring this knowledge to health reform debates at the corporate, local, state and federal levels." (The Society of Actuaries)



ALM (Advert.)

Complete Benefits Law Guidance from Law Journal Press (clickable image)

Complete Benefits Law Guidance from Law Journal Press

The nation's workforce and health care system are constantly evolving and so are the legal issues. Law Journal Press helps you handle any benefits law question with up-to-date, authoritative books on all aspects of the field. Get legal and practical advice from leading experts on everything from COBRA to ERISA, "contingent" employees to family and medical leave, and more. Browse our product listings for detailed information and special offers.

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

[Guidance Overview]
Companies Should Consider Installing New Deferral Plans Before July 1 to Maximize 2009 Compensation Deferral Opportunities

Excerpt: "Although §409A imposes strict rules on the timing of employee deferral elections, there may still be opportunities for companies to establish nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements for certain 2009 compensation amounts. This may particularly be the case with respect to certain performance bonuses for calendar year 2009." (BNA Tax Management Inc.)


[Guidance Overview]
IRS Provides Guidance on PPA Rules for Employer-Owned Life Insurance (PDF)

4 pages. Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service has published guidance, in question-and-answer format, on a number of outstanding issues arising under the new rules for certain employer-owned life insurance contracts enacted in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA). New Notice 2009-48 provides the first substantive guidance on these provisions." (Sutherland)


[Guidance Overview]
Recent Cross-Border Pension Developments

Excerpt: "At a recent conference of international pension lawyers in Athens, Greece, a panel comprised of Peter Schonewille with the European Commission in Brussels, Koen Van Duyse of TiberGhien, a Belgian tax boutique, and David Powell of the Groom Law Group in Washington, D.C., compared how the OECD model tax treaty, various EU state tax treaties and the US model tax treaty operate with respect to mobile executives and cross-border pension pooling of assets. " (Groom Law Group)


[Guidance Overview]
Spotting Section 409A Issues in Executive Separation Agreements

Excerpt: "When an executive's employment is terminated, the executive is often asked to sign a separation agreement. Typically, in these agreements an executive waives potential claims against his or her employer in return for severance and other benefits. Advisers for employers and executives in this situation should be aware of potential issues under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code." (Groom Law Group)


Alive and Well in 2009? 'Reasonable Compensation' Requirement for Deductibility of Executive Pay
Excerpt: "2009 may well be the year of reasonable compensation limitations. Recent outrage by Congress and the public over bonuses paid to AIG employees and over 'excessive' compensation in general, has produced a climate in which reasonable compensation limits may become meaningful." (BNA Tax Management Inc.)


Administration's Budget Proposal Targets Employer-Owned Life Insurance
Excerpt: "Employers would have less future incentive to buy corporate-owned life insurance (COLI) or bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) if a provision in President Obama's 2010 budget proposal becomes law. The provision would eliminate tax deductions for interest payments allocable to policies on officers, directors and employees (other than 20 percent owners)." (Mercer)


Get Used to a Working Retirement
Excerpt: "There is a major social and cultural message in the current economic collapse to the future retirees of the U.S.: Forget retirement." (BusinessWeek)


Cautions To Employers Considering a Multiemployer Plan
Excerpt: "Are you a small employer that has been faced with the possibility of participating in a multiemployer plan for your union employees? If so, before you sign up, you should carefully consider the pros and cons (especially cons!) of such a plan." (Chang, Ruthenberg & Long)



Press Releases

Older Worker Confidence in Retirement Security Drops Sharply, Watson Wyatt Survey Finds
Watson Wyatt

Employ Social Security Strategies as Part of Retirement Planning
Prudential Financial, Inc.

In A Troubled Economy, Executives Agree Effective Employee Communications Must Be Tailored, Personal and Customized
Buck Consultants, an ACS Company

IASB Proposes to Clarify the Accounting for Prepayments for Pension Plans
International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)

(Click to post your press release)

Employee Benefits Jobs

Pension & Retirement Plans Director
for Nationwide Financial Services Firm Specializing in Retirement Plans
in FL

Medical Claims Adjuster
for UFCW Unions and Employers Health and Welfare Plan of Central Ohio
in OH

Pension Administrator
for Keystone Benefits Group, Inc.
in PA

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